


a new warm voice inside your heart

by fangirl_squee



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Friends at the Table NB September Swap, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 20:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15871617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: Sokrates prepares to test the new jaeger AI system. The system is much better than they were expecting.





	a new warm voice inside your heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThunderstormsandMemories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThunderstormsandMemories/gifts).



> for twitter user s_artemisios for the FATT NB Swap - I hope you like it!!
> 
>  
> 
> thanks to maddie, for betaing

Sokrates sighed as the Shatterdome elevator moved upwards toward their new jaeger, Enhydra. It was smaller than their old jaeger, built more for quick strikes than Calliope’s heavy defence, and made to be safely operated by one person in tandem with a system AI to share the mental load.

 

It was a new development, and the Shatterdome was pretty evenly split of those who thought it was a good safety measure and those who thought it was a waste of resources. Sokrates’s least cynical opinion was that they were trying to show off a new toy to government figures, turning the jaegers into something that could be better spun into R and D testing than a perceived waste of government funds. Privately though, they thought it was probably more likely a desperate attempt by those higher up to slow the flow of lives lost, to minimise crew destruction when a jaeger fell.

 

The elevator dinged, the soft chime of it almost lost in the grinding of the elevator’s brakes. Sokrates made a face at the doors as they shuddered open.

 

They lingered on the footbridge leading into the jaeger’s cabin. Far down below they could see the other jaeger teams, waiting to see if they were needed for system checks - they spotted Jamil easily by her hair, which made the two figures curled next to her Addax and Jace, leaning on the massive foot of Peace. Other figures in pairs could just be seen at their respective jaeger’s feet - those two skulking on opposing sides of one were probably Augustus Foxwell and Diego Rose, those other two who were boxing (or maybe dancing) were probably Jacqui Green and Jillian Red. Towering above the other jaegers, bent slightly to fit inside the Shatterdome, was the Kingdom Come, a hulking jaeger with the largest crew in history. They tilted their head for a moment, listening to the distant sound of Mako’s cackle-laugh.

 

Sokrates let out a long breath, their armor heavy on their shoulders. Although it was the more usual method, they’d never been able to fathom piloting with other people. It seemed counterintuitive to open yourself up when you needed to be the most focused. Even the AI system was only supposed to help  _ share  _ the mental load during times of duress.

 

They considered the empty cockpit. If they went down in this new jaeger, there’d be no one hurt but themselves. It felt like a much easier position to fight from, even if it meant when things went bad there was no one to pull you out.

 

They shook themselves before they could linger too long on that train of thought, and activated the internal systems, watching the lights flicker on across the cabin for a moment before they pressed the comm button.

 

“Sokrates here, ready for internal AI testing.”

 

“Right!” came Orth’s voice, static curling over his words. “Right! Okay! Go ahead and just put the helmet on and we’ll do the rest.”

 

Sokrates eyed the helmet, as new and shiny as the rest of the jaeger, hanging in the centre of the cabin.

 

“Don’t I need to be, you know,” Sokrates waved an arm in a gesture no one but them could see, “strapped in?”

 

“Strapped… no, I shouldn’t think so,” said Orth, “This is just to make sure the AI is synced to you properly in the jaeger environment. We’re not testing the jaeger.”

 

“I can send someone to strap you in, Candidate,” said Ibex, “If it would make you feel more comfortable.”

 

_ Fuck you _ , mouthed Sokrates.

 

Out loud, they said, “No, it’s fine. Just checking.”

 

“Alright,” said Ibex, sounding perfectly reasonable in the way that made Sokrates want to strangle him.

 

Sokrates left the comms open as they walked towards the helmet. The metal felt warm under their hands. They took a deep breath.

 

“Okay. Here we go.”

 

With the helmet on, they could only see the vague shapes of the cabin. For the space of a breath nothing happened, and then lines of light slowly filled their vision, curling to form words in front of their eyes.

 

_ Integrity System Online _ .

 

“Whoa,” said Sokrates.

 

“Everything okay?” said Orth.

 

“Yeah, no, totally,” said Sokrates.

 

_ Hello Candidate Sokrates _ .

 

“Uh, hi?”

 

“What?” said Orth.

 

“I was--” Sokrates huffed a breath. “Nothing, everything’s fine Orth.”

 

“Good, good,” said Orth, sounding distracted, “everything looks fine on this end.”

 

_ You do not have to speak aloud for me to hear you. I have been programmed to attune to your brainwaves. _

 

_ That’s kind of creepy _ , thought Sokrates.

 

_ I apologise _ , said Integrity,  _ but this is the only way I have been given to communicate with you. Voices used during early trials were found to be confusing to pilots. _

 

_ I don’t know that this is any less confusing _ , thought Sokrates.

 

“Okay, we’re opening the drift,” said Orth, “Three… two… one. Activating drift.”

 

This, at least, felt familiar. Sokrates floated along the memories, careful not to get too close to any of them but unable not to look towards them. Scenes of their life flickered past, rendered in the dreamy, filtered colours of the drift.

 

The cold hallways of their childhood home. Teaching Cass to fish. Royal banquets, dancing. Playing cards with Jace. The collapse of their old jaeger as the kaiju ripped into it, crashing into the rocks as alarms blared and freezing seawater flooded the cabin. They struggled to pull their armour off but their hands were so cold and stiff, oh god, they were going to die here, they were going to drown--

 

They felt themselves be jerked backwards, out of the memory. There was a warm pressure, like someone laying a hand on their shoulder, holding them steady. They reached up, their hand touching only empty air.

 

“Integrity?”

 

_ You were in pain _ , said Integrity _ , it is one of my directives to prevent pain _ .

 

“Everything okay in there?” said Orth, “You spiked out for a moment.”

 

Sokrates cleared their throat. “I’m fine.”

 

“How’s the AI?” said Ibex.

 

“Uh, fine? I guess?” said Sokrates.

 

“Any issues drifting with it there?” said Ibex.

 

Sokrates could still feel the phantom hand on their shoulder, solid and warm, grounding them in the flow of memories.

 

“Not that I can tell from my end.”

 

“It all looks good here,” said Orth.

 

There was a pause, and Sokrates could here wisps of an off mic conversation for a moment.

 

“We’re going to keep you there for just a moment, Candidate, run a few more tests down here before we let you go” said Ibex smoothly. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

 

They rolled their eyes. “Fine.”

 

They felt the pressure on their shoulder pull back slightly.  _ I apologise if I overstepped _ .

 

_ It’s fine, I…  _ Sokrates took a breath. No use lying to someone that was in your head.  _ I don’t have much experience drifting with someone else. It’s strange to have the backup. _

 

The pressure on their shoulder returned, the warmth of Integrity’s touch spreading into their chest.

 

_ I am glad to be your backup, Candidate Sokrates. _

 

Sokrates smiled.  _ Just Sokrates is fine. _

 

_ Okay Just Sokrates, _ said Integrity.

 

“He-ey,” said Sokrates, with a laugh, “I didn’t know they gave you guys a sense of humor!”

 

_ They don’t _ , said Integrity _ , it’s something I’ve been running in the background _ .  _ I thought you might appreciate it _ .

 

“I certainly do,” said Sokrates, grinning.

 

“We’re all done,” said Orth.

 

Sokrates blinked. They’d almost forgotten this was supposed to be a test. “Oh. Right.”

 

“You’ll have plenty of time to flirt with the AI later, Candidate,” said Ibex.

 

Sokrates felt their cheeks heat, suddenly glad that their face was hidden by the helmet. “They have a  _ name _ . And I wasn’t  _ flirting _ !”

 

“Of course not,” said Ibex, amusement clear in his voice. “We do have a few diagnostics to run, so if you wouldn’t mind heading back down?”

 

Sokrates rolled their eyes. “Yeah yeah.”

 

_ Sorry about him _ , thought Sokrates.

 

_ It’s fine _ , said Integrity. They paused.  _ I don’t mind it _ .

 

_ You say that now, _ thought Sokrates,  _ but after a while he  _ really _ starts to grate on you. _

 

_ Not that _ , said Integrity _ , the flirting part _ .

 

Sokrates was  _ very _ glad they were still wearing the helmet. “Uh…”

 

“Candidate…” said Ibex, sounding less amused.

 

They could feel Integrity unhooking from them, a strange sensation like a hand slipping out of their’s, a feeling as though someone had been standing behind them and was now stepping away.

 

_ Um, right _ , thought Sokrates.  _ Right, yeah. See you next time? _

 

_ I will see you later, _ said Integrity.  _ Goodbye for now, Just Sokrates _ .

 

Sokrates huffed a laugh.  _ See ya _ .

 

They pulled off the helmet, rolling it between their palms for a moment. Their grin was reflected back at them.

 

Maybe this whole AI partnership thing wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins on most places


End file.
